Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 8
8
To deliver government’s ambitions as set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan, the Department...
Conclusion
To deliver government’s ambitions as set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (the Department) has lead responsibility for all environmental policy areas apart from climate change mitigation, for which the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy has the policy lead. Other parts of government including the Department for Transport, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and local authorities also have important 9 C&AG’s Report, para 18 10 Q 16 11 C&AG’s Report, Figure 6. 12 Q 12 13 C&AG’s Report, para 1.8 14 Qq 12–14 15 C&AG’s Report, para 1.18 16 Joint Nature Conservation Committee, United Kingdom’s 6th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity, 11 March 2019 10 Achieving government’s long-term environmental goals roles to play.17 In a July 2018 report on the Plan, the Environmental Audit Committee recommended that: “The government’s proposals for oversight and accountability of the Plan need to ensure all Government departments—not just Defra—are held to account.”18
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
In June 2011, government set the ambition for this to be the first generation to leave the natural environment of England in a better state than it inherited it, and to help protect and improve the global environment. In January 2018, government published its 25 Year Environment Plan, setting out its intent to improve the natural environment, both for the direct benefits this would bring, and also to support its influence overseas and position the UK as a global environmental leader. The decision to leave the EU added another angle to the case for a long-term environmental plan, as historically much of the UK’s environmental policy has been shaped by participation in EU Directives. The Environment Plan included ten overarching goals covering issues such as clean air, clean and plentiful water, and thriving plants and wildlife. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (the Department) has lead responsibility for all environmental policy areas apart from climate change mitigation, for which the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy has the policy lead. Other parts of government also have important roles to play in achieving government’s environmental goals.